Literature 21 Vocabulary
Terms
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- canon
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1. Those books of the Bible that the Christian Church accepts as being Holy Scripture (noncanonical books are apocryphal)
2. Refers to Saint's Canon, a group of people officially recognized by the Catholic Church as being saints
3. A body of works attributed to a particular author
4. Literary works which are considered classics - Old English period
- 400's-1066??; refers to heavily inflected language system of these peoples; once they were separated from their Germain roots(Frisians, Jutes, Saxons, Angles)
- periodicity
- the idea that there are distinct periods or ages within the literature of a nation or a culture; writers within a given historical era have more in common in terms of themes, styles, and structures of works than writers of different time frames
- satire
- a literary genre that uses irony, wit, and sarcasm to expose humanity's vices and fiobles, giving impetus to change or reform through ridicule; essentially has a moral purpose
- frame story
- a story that contains another story or stories, the frame story may be extremely sketchy or fairly well developed. the interior are likely to be fully developed tales
- alliteration
- the repetition of sounds in a sequence of words; when the letter is s it is called sibilant; used to establish rhythm and structure of poetic lines
- caesura
- A pause in a line of poetry; dictated by natural speaking rhythm
- kenning
- an embellished figurative phrase is used in place of a simpler or more common term
- hero/protagonist
- referring to the chief character of the work
- fabliau
- short verse narrative; satiric purpose, but designed to entertain; human characters; ridicule of middle and lower class people
- allusion
- indirect reference to a person, event, statement, or theme; used to enrich meaning or broaden the impact of a statement
- exegesis
- explication; elucidation of a passage by a close reading of the text; aims to reveal the meaning of a work first through close analysis of its language
- medieval romance
- a narrative, written in prose or verse and concerned with adventure, courtly love, and chivalry; written in praise of chivalric and religious ideals (courage, manners, piety, loyalty...)
- courtly love
- philosophy of love prevalent in medieval literature that purported to describe certain codes of behavior between aristocratic men and women; sometimes adultery
- exemplum
- type of allegory (a story that, though generally presumed to be true, is told to validate a general moral point)
- Seven Deadly Sins
- The seven capital or cardinal sins that the medieval Christian church believed entailed spiritual death; pride, anger, envy, greed, lust, sloth, gluttony
- autobiography
- a narrative account typically written by an individual that purports to depict his or her life and character; written expressly for a public audience
- mysticism
- the belief that some knowledge can only be acquired through extrasensory means (intuition, insight); speculative and pragmatic; frequently has an explicitly spiritual or religious character
- mystery play
- medieval religious drama that recounted a story from the Old Testament or New Testament (Jesus life or death/resurrection)
- allegory
- presentation of an abstract idea through more concrete means; usually a narrative; has at least 2 levels of meaning; either historical/political, or representing abstract themes; extended metaphor
- epic
- long and formal narrative poem written in an elevated style that recounts the adventures of a hero of almost mythic proportions; usually embodies bravery and wisdom
- epic simile
- extended or elaborate simile in which the vehicle is itself described at such length that it nearly obscures the tenor
- in medias res
- technique of beginning a narrative in the middle of the action; usually uses flashbacks to catch up; associated with the epic
- Spenserian stanza
- 9 lines with the rhyme scheme ababbcbcc; 1-8 are iambic pentameter, 9 is iambic hexameter; complex stanzaic form developed by Spenser for his long narrative poem The Faerie Queen
- anti-hero
- protagonist who does not exhibit the qualities of the traditional hero; may be ordinary, petty, or dishonest
- blank verse
- unrhymed verse; unrhymed iambic pentameter; credit to Marlowe, Shakespeare, and Milton for making it the preferred English verse form
- morality play
- medieval drama using allegory to make a moral point; protagonist represents humanity; medieval religious drama and allegory
- parody
- pokes fun at the author or style of the work being parodied; used to make a satiric or political point
- tragedy
- serious and somber drama, written in prose or verse, that typically ends in disaster and focuses on a character who undergoes unexpected personal reversals
- sonnet
- lyric poem that usually has 14 lines; two types: Italian and Shakespearean; follows one of several rhyming schemes; theme of love is most common; Shakes. has 3 quatrains and 1 couplet
- sonnet cycle
- series or group of sonnets interconnected by theme and written by one poet; usually has a theme of love and poet's changing attitudes towards it
- Shakespearean sonnet
- 14 line sonnet consisting of 3 quatrains with the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef, followed by a couplet rhyming gg
- apostrophe
- a figure of speech in which the speaker directly and often emotionally adresses a person who is dead or not physically present, an imaginary person or entity, an ideal, place, or concept; speaks as if the apostrophe were present and capable of understanding and responding
- lyric
- brief melodic and imaginative poem characterized by the fervent but structured expression of private thoughts and emotions by a single speaker (in 1st person); subjective expression of thought and emotion, melodic tone, indiv and imag focus
- Platonic love
- Idea of love from Plato that we should progress from comptemplating physical to mental to conceptual to spiritual beauty until we have attained a vision of beuaty at the highest level - the eternal and true Ideal Beauty from which the soul is normally separated and next to which all worldly beauty pales
- conceit
- elaborate and often surprising comparison between 2 apparently dissimilar things; ingenuity; extended metaphor; 2 types: Metaphysical - uses commonplace objects, Petrarchan - analogy, hyperbole, or oxymoron
- metaphysical conceit
- an extended figure of speech most commonly associated with metaphysical poetry; uses paradox, images, and a complex comparison between 2 highly dissimilar things
- metaphysical poetry
- any poetry that deals with philosophical or spiritual matters; John Donne and Andrew Marvell; elements: analytical, colloquial lang, rhythmic patterns, metaphysical conceit
- carpe diem
- "seize the day"; age-old literary theme that we should enjoy the moment before it is gone, before youth passes away
- Cavalier poets
- lyricists associated with the reign of Charles I of England (1625-49); wrote graceful, polished, witty, even brazen poems exalting love, women, and gallant actions; also the Caroline poets or Sons of Ben; followed example of Jonson and Donne; Ex: Herrick
- epithet
- an adjective or phrase applied to a noun to accentuate a certain characteristic; Ex: pious Aeneas
- Beowulf
- anonymous
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The Canturbury Tales:
"General Prologue", "The Miller's Tale", "Wife of Bath's Tale", "Pardoner's Tale" - Chaucer
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
- anonymous (Pearl Poet, Gawain Poet)
- The Book of Margery Kempe
- Kempe
- "Noah's Flood"
- anonymous
- "A Letter of the Authors"
- Spenser
- Fairie Queen
- Spenser
- Dr. Faustus
- Marlowe
- Astrophel and Stella
- Sidney
- sonnets
- Shakespeare
- "Defence of Poetry"
- Sidney
- "The Canonization"
- Donne
- "The Flea"
- Donne
- "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning"
- Donne
- "The Sun Rising"
- Donne
- Holy Sonnets
- Donne
- "To The Virgins"
- Herrick
- "Eve's Apology"
- Lanyer
- "To His Coy Mistress"
- Marvell
- "Penhurst"
- Jonson
- "Still To Be Neat"
- Jonson
- Paradise Lost
- Milton
- "Cooke-ham"
- Lanyer